Everything about calling Scottish Widows from abroad
Who Scottish Widows is, and why pension holders may ring from abroad
Scottish Widows is a UK provider of life cover, pensions and investments. Its contact page lists phone lines by product and, for workplace pensions (a pension set up by your employer), by the letters your policy number starts with. Policies starting ZU have their own line, 0800 032 1260, open 8am to 6pm, Monday to Friday. Someone who built up a workplace pension in Britain and later moved overseas may still hold it with Scottish Widows.
Why a UK 0800 number can fail from another country
0800 032 1260 is in the UK freephone range. GOV.UK lists 0800 calls as free from UK landlines and mobiles, but that arrangement stops at the border. Dialled as +44 800 from a foreign phone, the number becomes an international call, and many foreign carriers and VoIP plans refuse the format or play a message saying the number cannot be reached. Neither your phone nor the Scottish Widows line is at fault: the number class was built for a domestic caller.
What Losali does with UK freephone numbers
Losali is an independent dialler that runs in a web browser. The call leaves your device over the internet and Losali's telecom carrier connects the call to the 0800 number, not as an international attempt from your own line. Your foreign operator only carries the internet connection, so the +44 800 prefix never passes through its routing. There is nothing to install, and you keep your own SIM. The panel at the top of this page shows the current state of the line.
Check your policy number first
Scottish Widows sorts its workplace pension lines by policy number, so check yours before dialling. The 0800 032 1260 line is for policies starting ZU. Policies starting SW, all other workplace pensions and the Scottish Widows Personal Pension have their own ordinary 03 lines on the contact page, which this page does not dial. For callers outside the UK, the contact page also gives an ordinary UK number beside its pension lines, +44 131 549 9772, which your own provider can dial at its international rate.
- Check your policy number: the 0800 032 1260 line is for workplace pensions starting ZU.
- Keep your policy number and any recent letter from Scottish Widows in front of you.
- Have your current overseas address written out in full, in case it comes up.
- Work out the time difference with the UK before you dial.
- Keep a pen handy for a name, a date and any reference you are given.
Writing instead of calling
Not every task needs a call. For policies starting ZU, the contact page gives the email address workplacesavings@scottishwidows.co.uk and the postal address Scottish Widows Workplace Savings, Swindon SN80 1AA. In an email or letter, Scottish Widows asks for your account, plan or policy number, your full name, your address, how you want it to reply and the contact details to use. There is also an online pension account where you can log in or register.
Practical tips before you dial
Scottish Widows gives the hours for 0800 032 1260 as 8am to 6pm, Monday to Friday. The page names no time zone, so for a UK line it is safest to assume UK time and convert to your own. Ring early in the window if you can, which leaves room for a second attempt the same day. Write your question down in a sentence or two, with your policy number beside it. Before you hang up, note who you spoke to and what was agreed.
What kind of number is this?
Freephone 0800 / 0808. Free to call from inside the UK. With Losali the call is billed at €0.99/min, per whole minute, prepaid, and the price is shown before the call starts.